It might have been one last promotional push, but Conor McGregor’s kick towards Khabib Nurmagomedov during their face-off Friday will no doubt have people talking heading into UFC 229.
Fans didn’t get a face off between Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov at Thursday’s UFC 229 pre-fight press conference. Yet the man serving as the Master of Ceremonies, UFC President Dana White, admitted he’d rather see it on weigh-in night anyway. On Friday, with all fighters at UFC 229 having made weight at the official weigh-ins, the main event pair finally faced off. Capping off the ceremonial weigh-ins, McGregor and Nurmagomedov came face-to-face at long last.
And depending on your take on such theatrics, perhaps you can understand why White was so gung-ho to see the pair face off here. With White standing between them, admonishing each not to touch the other, it was unsurprisingly McGregor who broke rank, slapping the hand of the champion. Then, with the two separated by any number of UFC employees, McGregor fired off a kick in the general direction of the lightweight champion.
To be clear, it didn’t come close to landing. A calculated promotional tactic, perhaps. Or maybe McGregor is really buying into his crazed, wildman image at this point. Either way, the exchange should add to the already extraordinarily high expectations for the fight.
The FINAL faceoff!
🇷🇺 @TeamKhabib vs. 🇮🇪 @TheNotoriousMMA
SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT! #UFC229 pic.twitter.com/3jVTuFL1Hp
— UFC (@ufc) October 6, 2018
UFC President Dana White later posted a different angle of the confrontation.
KHABIB vs MCGREGOR!!! pic.twitter.com/XNtCTBBklr
— Dana White (@danawhite) October 6, 2018
UFC 229 takes place October 6 (tomorrow) live on PPV from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Tony Ferguson takes on Anthony Pettis in the co-main event, while heavyweights Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov also clash on the main card.
